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(N0 Model.)

' 3 s'hetsesheen -1. J. H. SWIFT. l

BOX NAILING MAGHlfNE. y

' Patented Feb. 19, 1895.

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(No Model.) Smetssheet s.

lJ. EL SWIFT. BOX NAILING MACHINE.

. N0 '534, 296 Patented Feb. 19, 1895.

UNITED STATES kPATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH I-l. SWIFT, OF BROOKLYN, ASSIGNOR TO FREDERIC J. SVIFT, OF

NEW YORK, N. Y. v

BOX-NAI Ll NG MACHIN E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 534,296, dated February19, 1895.

Application led December 2.1892. stanno. 453.848. N0 model.)

To all whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH H. SWIFT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Box-Nailing Machines, of whichthe following is a specification.

My said improvements relate to a class of box nailing machines whereinthe different pieces or parts of the box or box-frame are fed in bychains, runs, carriers, or their equivalents, from the front of themachine and into adjustable guides, arms and shoes by which the piecesor parts are arranged, and held in a proper position for being nailedtogether.

This invention has for4 its object, generally, to improve theconstruction of machines of this type and render them better availablefor practical use than they are in the forms known at present.

Parts of my machine are covered by previous Letters Patent obtained byme, and in this specification, I shall refer to those several patentsfor a description thereof.

The invention consists in providing a boxnailing machine for nailingboth ends of either the top, the bottom or the side piece or pieces ofthe box or box-frame to the end pieces thereof, at 'the same instant andby one operation; with nail driving mechanism capable of suchadjustmentthat the same machine may be used in nailing boxes ofdifferent lengths or sizes;` means for holding the box or box-frame, orthe end pieces thereof, and either the top, the bottom, or the sidepiece or pieces of the box, steady and in proper position during theoperation of nailing; and, finally, means-such as endless chains,carriers, springs and a table, for instance-for supporting the box orbox frame, or the end pieces thereof, togetherwith the top, the bottom,or the side piece or pieces of the box, as vthe case may be, and forconveying the same to and holding the same in the proper position withreference to the nailing mechanism in order that the operation ofnailing on such piece or pieces may be carried out. I attain theseobjects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich 4 Figure l is a front View of the machine. Fig. 2 is a plan viewof the entire machine looking along the dotted lines and no on Fig. l.Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the machine looking along the dotted linefrom arrow y to arrow z on Fig.v 2; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view ofthe nailbox and plunger-holder as used in this machine.

Similar figures and letters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views.

In operating my invention, a bed A and a frame B. C of iron or othersuitable material, is provided, and at one side and on this bed issupported a shaft 44, the journals ofwhich shaft rest in suitablebearings, the

said shaft having at oneend a driving pulley 29 which is driven by abelt from any suitable driving power. The driving pulley is loose on theshaft and has a conical recess in it, into which is fitted a conicalfriction-pulley. rIhe friction Ypulley is so secured to the shaftthatmwhen forced into the said conical recess in the driving-pulley, andso made to revolve, the said shaft 44 is caused to revolve with it. Thesaid friction-pulley is op-l erated back and forth on the shaft, beingfeathered thereon, into and out of the saidA conical recess in thedriving-pulley, by means of a foot piece 45, retracting spring 47, andconnecting rod 46.

A pinion 30, at the other end of the Shaft 44 from the driving-pulley,drives the cogwheel 31 on the end of a shaft 43, and so gives motionthereto. On the shaft 43 is a pinion 32, which drives cog-wheel 33 onthe main-shaft 2. Motion is communicated from shaft 2 to cross shaft 4by means of connecting rods 1. These connections give motion to thenailing mechanism. In order to procure the necessary motion for themechanism for conveying the parts of the box into the machine, I haveconnection from cross-shaft 4 by connecting rod 26 to bell crank 27, toconnecting rod 28 and thence to ratchet 24, by means of which the shaft25 iscaused to revolve carrying with it sprocket wheels 23 and endlesschains 38.

Nail punches 48, six in number for instance, are properly suspended inand fromthe lower side, `and on each end of the crosshead 5 and enterchannels in lthe ynail IOO boXes 49, of which there are likewise siX,the said nail-punches being reciprocated with the cross-head 5 butpreferably notwholly withdrawn from said channels.

The nails are fed to the nail-boxes 49 through the nail tubes 50, thesaid nail tubes being supplied with nails from the hopper 40 of the nailfeeder.

The construction and operation of the nail feeders are fully shown anddescribed in Letters Patent of the United States granted to John J.Sullivan on the 27th day of November, 1888, and numbered 289,360.Otherforms of nail feeders may, of course, be used with my box-nailingmachine.

The construction and operation of the nail boxes, nail-punches,nail-tubes, &c.,are shown and described in Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, granted to me on the 11th day of December, 1883, and numbered289,941, save that I have improved upon said punches 48 in that I nowallow the punches to hang loose in the groove 51, Fig. 4, inpunch-holder 52, the punches thereby nding their own position by meansof the support given to them by the nail-boxes 49 by their not beingentirely withdrawn at any time therefrom.

The heads of the punches are round and have a shoulder which holds themin the groove as represented in Fig. 4. The punches andthe heads thereofare also round, as they wear better than square ones.

The cross head is provided with a nail punch holder 52, which is formedpreferably of metal and which is secured to the cross-head at 58 Fig. l,by means of set screws. Such nail punch holders are so formed that. thedesired number of nail punches in the case of each holder, may besuspended in and from a groove in the lower part of the holder,substantially as shown, there being thus provided, a set or series ofnail punches on each side of the machine.

Enndless chains 38 or their equivalents, to support the box orbox-frame, and either the top, .the bottom or the side piece or piecesof the box, and runs 10 preferably of metalto support the ends, and bothto convey all the pieces of the box to a proper position and to hold thesame in a proper position with reference to the nailing mechanism in order that such top, bottom, end or side piece or pieces of the box may benailed together, are also provided. Attached to these endless chains atstated distances, are carriers 8, made of any suitable material, andprovided at either end on the lower side with a small nut or piece. `Thepurpose of these additions is that they may protrude into the runs l0the inner side of the runs 10 being lower than the outer sides to allowthe carriers to pass over that side and come in contact with the endsplaced therein. The top, bottom or side pieces are now placed on theendless chains one at a time directly in front of carriers 87 and endpieces are placed in the runs l0. By the motion given to the chains asbefore i shown in Fig.

stated, and with the aid of the carriers the pieces of the box areconveyed to a proper position for nailing.

In order that it may be known when the pieces to be nailed are in aproper position with reference to the nailing mechanism,there is onshaft 25 a ratchet 24 as before de scribed, which causes said shaft andsprocket- Wheels 23 to revolve any given proportionate distance of theircircumference carrying the endless chains also a stated distance, sayfrom carrier to carrier, thus conveying the ends and a top, bottom, orside each time under the nailing mechanism. It then rests and allows thenails to be driven into the box, where the ratchet having been drawnback, by reason of bell crank 27, the same distance it has alreadytraveled said ratchet comes in contact with another tooth on the wheeland motion is again transmitted and the completed box-frame is withdrawnfrom the nailing mechanism and new pieces conveyed into proper positionfor nailing. For example: the machine now constructed by me has aratchet of three teeth and sprocket Wheels containing thirty-six teeth.At every pressure upon the foot piece the ratchet revolves one-third ofits circumference, thus causing the sprocket-wheels to revolve twelveteeth, carrying the endless chains twelve links. The carriers areattached to the chains twelve links apart. Thus with every motion of themachine the carriers pass from one given point to another, and I know bythe stopping of the chains when the pieces of the box are in positionfor nailing. The sprocketwheels on shaft 35 are loose on the shaft,while the shaft is stationary, as by this arrangement there is obtaineduniformity of motion. All of this mechanism rests on and is supported bytable E. l, made of any suitable material, which table extends throughand is part of the nailing mechanism. The forward part of this table issupported by On shaft 25, at the opposite end from ratchet 24 is a wheel20. Attached to table E as shown in Fig. 2 is a spring 22 which holdsbrake 21 against the wheel 20 for the purpose of stopping the momentumas soon as the ratchet makes the stated revolution. The journals ofshaft 85 rest in suitable bearings 37 which are adjustable in grooves55, by means of handscrews 5G, as shown in Fig. 2. By moving thosebearings back or forth the proper tension of the endless chains ismaintained.

Extending from side to side of the frame 13. C is a shaft 16 to whichare attached two arms 18 7 holding Wheels 19 said wheels being drawndownward by springs as 2. Any suitable appliance may be used in place ofthe mechanism described. The purpose of this mechanism is to push andhold in proper position, the different pieces of the side, top orbottom. The desired result is obtained by having the two IOO IIO

wheels or other appliance press tightly against the front piece,thespring being strong enough to push the pieces back along the endlesschains until they come in contactrwith the carriers 8 when the wheelsroll over the pieces allowing them to pass through the nailingmechanism.

Directly above the endless chains at their entrance to the frame C Fig.3 lare metal shoes 7. These shoes are connected by the springs to arms12, Fig. 2, which arms are properly attached to bars 34,Fig 8, parts ofthe side frame of the machine. By means of these shoes the pieces of thetop, bottom or sides are held rmly against the endless chains andcarriers and not allowed to overlap each other.

The runs 10 end at the beginning of the frame B C and the ends aretherefrom carried between two parallel [iexible curving arms 14 and 15,secured to the fra-me by suitable metal springs 9 as shownin Fig. 2, theinner arm being lower than the outer in order that it may be inside theframe of the box. By these flexible arms the ends are held firmly inposition under the nailing mechanism and in proper relation with regardto the top, bottom or side of the box conveyed bythe endless chains asheretofore described.

The operation of my box-nailing machine is as follows: The side, top orbottom pieces of the boxes to be formed having been rst placed on theendless chains 38 provided for them, and the required number of endsbeing in the runs 10, the machine being at rest, with the cross-headelevated, and the carriers 8 each conveying one of the aforesaid side,top or bottom pieces and two end pieces in proper position for nailing,that side, top or bottom piece and' those end pieces which are under thenailing mechanism being held lirmly in position by the flexible arms,guides and shoes as heretofore described and the back carriersin properposition to push forward the pieces for another box,the operator quicklyand strongly presses his foot for an instant on the foot-piece 45, andby means of the motion thus communicated' to the parts of the machine asheretofore described, the cross head 5 is depressed. I/Vhen thecross-head is depressed, the nail punchesl suspended from it are forceddown through the channels in the nail-boxes and driveV the nails, whichare supplied through tubes from a suitable nail-feeder, as before setforth. driven' the cross-head is immediately caused to rise' by theoperation of the machine and the next carrier conveys into position thepieces of another box by means of the motion communicated -to theendless chains by the ratchet 24 as heretofore set forth. The cross-headhaving been thus again elevated and the pieces of another box being inposition, the operator againsets the machine in motion by pressing theend of the footpiece 45 the'aforesaid nailing again occur- The nailshaving ybeen ring. Each time the cross-head ascends and while ascendingthe nailed box-frames are carried forward on the endless chains andwhile falling off the end thereof they turn over and drop onto endlessbelts, or their equivalents, and are carried thereby to another machine,by which the other side, top or bottom is nailed thereto. The operationof thus nailing together a side, top or bottom piece and two end pieces,may be continued indefinitely. When the other top, bottom or side is tobe nailed on the same machine the endless chains are adjusted so as'tobe outside the runs 10, as heretofore described.

f In the practice of my invention, I do not limit myself to the exactconstruction of boxnailing machines herein described and shown, nor tothe exact form of the special devices for which I am desirous ofsecuring Letters Patent. y

/Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. rIhe combination, in a box-nailing machine, of sprocket wheels,endless chains and the carriers thereto attached for supporting the topor bottom piece of a box, and for conveying the same to the properposition with reference to the nailing mechanism with runs composed ofparallel webs for containing the opposite parts of a box in order thatsaid top or bottom piece may be nailed to the two other parts of the boxor box-frame, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, in a box-nailing machine, of the runs composed ofwebs havingfa space between them, with an endless carrier locatedbetween said runs and having side projections to extend over said runsfor pushing the ends of boxrto the proper position for nailing and withnailing mechanism arranged in such order that said ends may be nailed tothe top or bottom piece of the box or box-framesubstantially as setforth.

3. The combination, in a box nailing machine, upwardly extending runs tohold parts of a box and an endless carrier having side projections,arranged to push parts of a box along said runs, substantially as setforth.

4. In a box-nailing machine the combination of runs and endless chainslocated be.

tween said runs and having side project-ing carriers and sprocketwheels, with adjustable bearings 37, substantially as set forth.-

5. In a box nailing machinethe combination of the endless chains,projecting carriers thereon, sprocket Wheels, and runs placedperpendicular to the plane of the chains, and located on opposite sidesof the chains, with a ratchet for automatically moving the endlesschains and carriers into the proper position at the proper interval withreference to the nailing mechanism, of such box-nailing machine,substantially as set forth.

6. In a box nailing machine the combina- IZO tion, of upwardly extendingruns, endless carriers located between said runs, springs, and

flexible arms or shoes to co-act therewith, to eration, and verticallyextending runs beforce and hold the portions ofthe box in proper Deathsaid boxes, and endless carriers having position with reference to theother parts or projections to extend over said runs to push 15 pieces ofthe box or box-frame during the opl parts of a box therethrough, thecarriers be- 5 eration of nailing, substantially as set forth. inglocated between the runs to enable the 7. In ztbox-nailingmachine,avertically reprojections to push parts of n. boxthrough ciprocatinf.;` cross-head provided at each end said runs. witha. set or series of nail uuches suh- Y. stnntially as described, incomlhinatioxi with JOSEPH 1L bWIFl lo nail boxes secured to stationaryparte of the In presence ofmachine for nailing both ends of the box orJOHN J. SULLIVAN, box-frame at the same instant and by one op- C. E.SWIFT.

